You Must Remember This
by BurntSugar
Summary: When Kirsten wakes up after her car crash, she has no memory of the last 22 years of her life. When she looks in the mirror she expects to see a 16 yr old girl; not a 38 yr old woman, and she certainly doesn't expect the grown-up children, or the husband.
1. Prologue

She places the necklace on the bar, curled around her untouched Martini glass. Two emotional crutches she was officially leaving behind her. She leaves some money there too as she gets up slowly, and makes her way out to the car. It doesn't occur to her that perhaps she shouldn't be driving, all she can think about is getting home to Sandy.

She gets into the driver's seat, and starts the engine. She drives for a couple of minutes, but she can't wait any longer; she needs to speak to Sandy now. She needs him to know... She gets her phone out of her bag, and scrolls down to 'home' on her address book. She can feel her eyes burning, and there's a lump in her throat. Her stomach hurts too, and her heart; that's nothing new though, she's been feeling like that all year; that's what she's been trying to drown with alcohol.

She stares at the number for a second, but then changes her mind. She doesn't want Seth, or Ryan to hear her like this. She scrolls down to Sandy instead. He answers straight-away. "Hey. Where are you?" "I'm sorry." She tells him through the tears that fall as soon as she hears his voice.  
>"Oh, honey, it was my fault. You were trying to tell me something, I... I wasn't listening. Just tell me where you are, and I'll come and pick you up."<br>"I'm coming home... I thought I was losing you."  
>"Oh, that's never gonna happen."<br>"I love you."  
>"I love you too. Now pull over, and I'll come get you."<br>She drops the phone. She can still hear Sandy's voice on the other end, calling her name as she leans down to get it. The van narrowly misses her, blaring it's horn as it speeds past. She sees the truck headed straight for her. There's no time to move out of the way. It gets closer and closer. She hopes Sandy knows she'd never truly want anyone else. The world goes black.

* * *

><p>She can hear voices. She doesn't know where she is, or why she aches all over. She tries to open her eyes. The light is too bright so she shuts them again. She can feel someone next to her. Holding her hand. She turns her head and opens her eyes again.<br>"Honey thank God you're awake. You had us so worried." The doctors, and nurses surround her, and he lets go of her hand to let them get to her. As soon as they move away though he's back. He grabs hold of her hand again. She wonders if she should pull her hand away. She would if she wasn't so tired, and besides she really is in a lot of pain, and she doesn't know where she is, or what's going on. All she really knows is that the pressure on her hand is oddly comforting.  
>"What happened?" She asks the room in general. The man next to her answers.<br>"You were in a car crash. You were very lucky. You've got a sprained wrist, and a broken rib. You also had a nasty bump to the head." She nods as she takes that all in.  
>"Can I ask you something else?"<br>"Sure." He laughs.  
>"Who are you?"<p> 


	2. Chapter 1

Sandy watched Kirsten through the window as she dozed in and out of consciousness. He was trying to give her some space, since it was clear having him there made her uncomfortable. He'd phoned the boys last night to tell them what had happened; he'd just told them about the accident, and left out the part about her not recognizing him. He'd been hoping that she would wake up, and be fine. He'd managed to convince them not to come in last night because she needed sleep, but he knew they would be in any moment, and he had no idea how they were going to take this.

"Sandy." A voice spoke gently behind him. He turned to see Patrick; an old police officer friend of his from when he worked at the public defenders' office. It had been Patrick who was first on the scene at the crash; he'd recognized Kirsten, and had immediately phoned Sandy.  
>"I don't know what to tell you. She blew a .08. ...Look, maybe, maybe I read it wrong. Maybe it was a .07."<br>"I'm not asking you to do that."  
>"Just promise me you'll get her some help."<br>Sandy nodded, and watched his friend walk away. He knew he should feel guilty, but all he felt was relief; after all they both had enough to worry about. He went back to watching her through the window, in his mind running through all that had happened the night before.

_The doctor had been paged as soon as she'd woken up, and had arrived before Sandy had a chance to react to her question. Sandy told him that he was worried about her; that she was confused, and didn't recognize him. The doctor had only nodded, and turned to Kirsten. _  
><em>"I'm just going to ask you some questions Kirsten. OK?" She had nodded.<em>  
><em>"Can you tell me your full name?"<em>  
><em>"Kirsten Nichol."<em>  
><em>"What about your husbands' name?"<em>  
><em>"Husband?" She had laughed slightly. "My boyfriends' name is Jimmy Cooper."<em>  
><em>"Can you tell me who the president is?"<em>  
><em>"Of course, Ronald Regan."<em>  
><em>"What year is it Kirsten?"<em>  
><em>"It's 1983." The doctor and Sandy had shared a look, which she had immediately picked up on. "Will somebody please just tell me what's going on?"<em>  
><em>"Just a moment." The doctor had told her. "Mr Cohen. Can I talk to you in the hall?" Sandy had been conflicted, he really hadn't wanted to leave her, but after a moment's debate with himself he had followed the doctor into the hall.<em>

_"Jimmy Cooper?"_  
><em>"My wife's boyfriend when she was in high school. What's wrong with her?"<em>  
><em>"I'm going to need to talk to her some more, but at the moment I would say she's developed retrograde amnesia; brought on by the crash, and the bump to her head. Now she could be over it when she wakes in the morning, or... well it could take longer. I'm afraid the only thing to do is wait." His pager had beeped and he'd looked at it quickly. "I'll be back later to go through things in more detail with you, and Kirsten. In the meantime, I can get a nurse to explain the situation to her." Sandy had shaken his head.<em>  
><em>"No. I should be the one to do it." The doctor had smiled, in what Sandy was sure was meant to be a reassuring way, and then he'd rushed off down the corridor.<em>

_He'd come back into the room, and Kirsten had looked up at him. "They won't tell me what's going on," and she'd looked so scared, and vulnerable he couldn't bear it. He'd sat down on the chair beside her bed._  
><em>"I know. I'm going to tell you now. You've been in a car crash; you've got some minor injuries, nothing to worry about, but you also hit your head pretty hard...They think you have retrograde amnesia. You've forgotten twenty-two years of your life. But don't worry." He'd added quickly. "It'll come back. We just need to give it some time." He'd stopped to give her a moment to absorb that. "It's not 1983; it's 2005. I'm you're husband, and we have a child... well not really a child anymore... Seth. He's seventeen. We also have Ryan, who's the same age. We took him in nearly two years ago after he had some problems at home."<em>  
><em>"I don't..." She'd tried, then stopped, and cleared her throat. "I don't understand."<em>  
><em>"I know honey... Sorry, maybe I shouldn't have told you that all in one go." He'd clasped her hand in his, as she'd closed her eyes and shaken her head to clear it. When she'd opened them again she'd looked down at the hand holding hers, and pulled away from him. He'd done his best not to look hurt. <em>

_"Where's my mom? Is she here." Sandy was sure he'd flinched; she'd sounded so young. He'd really wished that he didn't have to do this, but he couldn't not tell her, not now she'd asked, and he couldn't lie.  
>"Oh honey... Your mom she... she had cancer. It was over ten years ago now... She died."<em>  
><em>"No." She'd whispered, her eyes wide, and filling with tears.<em>  
><em>"I'm so sorry."<em>  
><em>"What about my dad?"<em>  
><em>"He's fine. He's living in Newport. I'll phone him for you first thing in the morning."<em>  
><em>"Why can't you phone him now?" She managed, trying desperately not to cry.<em>  
><em>"Sweetheart; he may be the devil incarnate, but he's also an old man; I can't phone him in the middle of the night to tell him you've had a car accident."<em>

_He'd tried to comfort her but she hadn't wanted him. Once he'd convinced her she couldn't speak to either of her parents, she'd asked for Jimmy. He'd told her he didn't live round here anymore, but the nurse, who had been coming in and out of the room checking on her had overheard._  
><em>"Can you contact him? It might do her some good to be able to talk to someone she recognizes."<em>  
><em>"I'll phone him for you." He'd told her. "It might take a few days for him to get there." He'd gone outside to make the call, but he couldn't get through to him. The mobile number he'd had was no longer in service. He'd promised her that he would try again in the morning. <em>

_"Hey, it's not so bad, is it?" He'd joked. "I mean you've still got me." She'd only looked at him blankly, and then turned over, and shut her eyes. _

That was last night, and her attitude to him had hardly warmed. It was a real case of shooting the messenger, but he knew he wouldn't have been able to forgive himself if he'd let her find out that stuff from a nurse.

He hears footsteps, and looks up to find Seth and Ryan walking towards him.  
>"How is she? Can we go in?"<br>"I need to talk to the both of you." He looks around, and then pulls them down to the relatives room. He tells them everything that has happened. "Now it's up to you. If you want to go into see her I'm not going to try and stop you, but what I want you to understand is her state of mind right now. As far as she's concerned she went to bed last night as a teenager, with her parents in the room down the hall, and she's woken up to find she has a husband she's never met, her mom's dead. You'll be adding a child that's older than she thinks she is to that list."  
>"OK." Seth agrees easily, when it's comes to his mother he'd trust his dad's judgment unreservedly. "So what I can I do to help her?"<br>"You can go pick up your grand-father. I haven't spoken to him yet, so be tactful..." Seth nods. "Maybe let Ryan tell him." Sandy jokes halfheartedly.  
>"What are you gonna do?"<br>"I am going to go outside, and phone Jimmy."  
>"Jimmy Cooper. Why are you phoning him?"<br>"As far as she's concerned she's sixteen, and that means Jimmy. Seeing him might be able to help her better than I can right now." He goes out of the hospital to use his mobile. He phones Marissa to see if she has a current number for her father, and eventually he gets through. He explains what as happened as briefly as he can, wanting to get back to Kirsten as quickly as possible.  
>"Yeah of course. Whatever she needs. I'll get the first plane back." Jimmy tells him straight-away.<br>"Thanks Jimmy. I appreciate it." He hangs up the phone, and goes back to the ward Kirsten is on; all the time thinking how much he hates having to ask for help for Kirsten from Jimmy of all people.

He almost makes it to the room before, "What on earth has happened to my daughter?" comes booming across the corridor. He shuts his eyes for a moment to gather some remnants of strength, and then he turns to his father-in-law.


	3. Chapter 2

Sandy hasn't slept in a bed in thirty-six hours. His eyes feel gritty, and his head feels as though it's filled with foam, but despite the constant reassurance of the nurses that they will look after Kirsten if he wants to go home for a few hours; he instead has been spending his time pacing up and down the corridors, drinking gallons of coffee, and making awkward one-sided small-talk with the woman he loves more than anything else in the world.

He'd been sure that despite Caleb's initial anger at his daughter's drink-driving, and Kirsten's shock at seeing her father age twenty-years seemingly over-night; that his presence could only help her. So much so that he'd taken the opportunity to have a lie-down in the relatives' room. Seth and Ryan had come back to the hospital to keep him company; he'd stretched out over the chairs while they'd sat at a table, and he'd dozed to the sound of Seth talking about Summer, Zach, prom, and his comic books. Ryan had occasionally interjected but for the most part had let Seth ramble. Sandy, for by no means the first time, was struck by how lucky they were to have Ryan in their lives.

His peace wasn't to last long though as soon the shouting from across the hall made it's way to them. The three of them got there as Caleb was leaving, only hearing the tail end of the row; Kirsten yelling that her father was going to die alone. Caleb had stormed out, and straight past them.

Through the door they could clearly see Kirsten staring back at them eyes wide as she took them in. Her eyes glided over Sandy, pausing on Ryan, her eyes wide, and then freezing on Seth. He gave her a half-smile, and she turned and all but ran into the en-suite bathroom.

Sandy sent the boys home to get some dinner, as he went in to attempt to calm Kirsten; that's where he finds himself now, sat by Kirsten's bed. In this for the long haul despite the fact that she's barely acknowledged his existence since she first woke up.

"Honey?"  
>"Could you please stop calling me that?" It's the first time she's said more than two words to him since the previous night, and that's what he chooses to focus on.<br>"Kirsten." He corrects himself.  
>"I was just wondering if you had any questions?"<br>"About what?"  
>"Anything. You, me, Seth." He laughs. "The last twenty years. Anything." She looks at him then, really looks for the first time.<br>"I'm still hoping to wake up. None of this seems real..."  
>"I know. I can't imagine how scared you must be, but I promise you I'm here. I'm going to look after you." Before she can respond the door opens, and they both look up as Kirsten's doctor enters.<p>

"So. I have good news for you both... I'm discharging you, Kirsten."  
>"She can come home?"<br>"Yes, she can." He tells Sandy, and then turns back to Kirsten.  
>"You still need to rest but I see no reason why you can't do that at home. Being in familiar surroundings will do you the power of good."<br>He looks between the two of them. The one looking thrilled, and the other terrified.  
>"Home." She repeats faintly. "Where am I going?"<br>"Well you're coming home with me, of course." Sandy smiles.

Kirsten takes her time getting dressed, both to buy herself some space, and due to the cuts and bruises on her body that make any movement painful. Sandy, _her husband_, had given her some fresh clothes, that _her sons_; Seth and Ryan, had brought in from home, _her home_. That she shared with them all; _her family_. She kept saying it in her head, as if the repetition might make it sink in. Instead she gets a little shock every-time; a not-at-all pleasant sensation of falling.

She has a feeling that she's been acting like a spoiled brat since she's been here. To Sandy; who she had to stop herself from referring to in her head as Mr Cohen, whose barely left her bedside. To her father; who'd said some things that she hadn't wanted to hear, but mostly who she'd been furious at for not confirming what she'd been hoping against hope that he would. That this was some elaborate practical joke; her mom was fine, and this 'Sandy', was really an actor paid to pretend to be her husband.

To this end she'd been avoiding her reflection all day. Not looking in the direction on the window that ran down the side of her room, turning down the offers of the nurses to bring her a mirror so that she could brush her hair, and put on some make-up, and every-time she'd been to the bathroom she'd turned out the lights, so that she wouldn't be tempted to sneak a peek into the mirror.

The only kink in her flawless plans was on the third finger of her left hand in the shape of two white gold rings. Obvious to anyone as an engagement ring, and a wedding ring. She'd tried taking them off, but couldn't because of the bruising on her hand that had caused her fingers to swell.

The clothes that she'd been given didn't really tell her anything new about herself; they fit, they were very casual, jeans, a t-shirt, and a sweater. Socks, trainers, and underwear; underwear that didn't match, were not even in the same family as each other. Different colors, materials, styles; she figured that Seth, and Ryan had gotten them under duress. She pictured them fighting over who was going to get them, and then the loser shutting their eyes, and grabbing the first that they reached.

She'd been picturing scenarios with the two of them since she'd seen them in the corridor, and now she knew she was going home, she did it all the more, wanting to be prepared for seeing them; having to talk to them. She knew instantly which one of them was her adopted son, and which one was her biological child. He just looked so much like Sandy; the hair, obviously, but there was more to it than that. Seeing them standing next to each other; she just knew. Seth scared her; more so than Ryan, although she must have the same responsibility towards both of them. It was the implications behind Seth's very existence that scared her.

Jimmy had been her first proper boyfriend; the only boy she had ever even kissed. It was all mapped out for her; she would finish school, go with him to N.Y.U, and then he would be given a job with her father, and they would get married. She'd never even thought about other boys; sure there were ones that she'd known liked her; that had flirted with her, and the ones that hadn't known she had a boyfriend had asked her out, but she'd never done anything about it.

She had no idea when everything had gone so off course. Why wasn't she married to Jimmy? If this was real; and she was starting to reject the nightmare idea too, and admit that it was, but if this was how the future had turned out, she couldn't understand it. She couldn't ask Sandy, he'd asked her several times if she wanted to know anything, but, "Why am I married to you, when I should be married to him?" was just not a question she could bring herself to voice out-loud. It was too unkind; and she'd been brought up better than that. She'd been planning on asking her father, but he had been too busy accusing her, and her mother, to listen.

So all she was left with was the knowledge that it had happened. She had married Sandy, and they lived together, had a child together. Presumably slept together; they had at least once; and there was living, breathing proof of that.

As far as she was concerned she was a virgin; Jimmy wanted them to sleep together, but she wanted to wait. They had the rest of their lives together, so what was the rush? She had a sudden wild thought, that maybe that had been the problem; maybe he hadn't wanted to wait anymore, and had slept with someone else, leaving her with no alternative than to marry someone else.

It really wasn't anything against Sandy, she could tell that she was attractive for his age, for any age really, not that she was any great judge of that, but she had also seen the way the nurses had been looking at him; the way they talked to him, he was clearly a big hit. He seemed like a genuinely nice man, he'd been so patient, and calm with her even when she'd been rude, or ignored him, but as far as she was concerned Jimmy was her boyfriend; she loved him, and they had stayed in touch; that had to mean something, didn't it?

She doesn't have time for anymore contemplation, for at that moment, the man she'd been thinking about knocked on the door. "You ready to go?" She nods bravely, and steps towards him.

"Mom, you're back." Seth shouts as soon as they walk through the door. He runs to her and hugs her. She stands there awkwardly, and doesn't hug back. After a moment Seth pulls away, not the least bit daunted. Ryan waves, and nods from across the room. Sandy puts his hand on the small of her back, and pushes her forward gently.  
>"Come on let's get you settled on the couch , and I will get started on the Cohen family special for dinner." He pauses for effect. "Pad Thai with dumplings. You're normally in charge of dialing, but just for tonight I will take over that duty."<br>"And then after you've eaten I can give you Seth Cohen's personal tour of the Cohen residence. Perfectly honed through years of... well actually just Ryan, but it'll be great. I've also dug out all the photo albums, and family videos..."  
>"Seth I think that can wait until we've got her settled in."<br>"Oh, right... OK.. Later. "  
>They get her situated on the couch; with cushions, and a duvet, and hand her the remote, and then they leave her alone to organize dinner, and probably to talk about her. Not that she gives too much thought to that, since she's too preoccupied with the sheer amount of channels she's faced with; and nothing she recognizes to watch.<p>

Dinner is less scary than she'd thought it would be. They all eat in the family room; Kirsten stretched out on the couch, they turn the television off, and she tries to prepare herself for the onslaught as Seth turns to her. Instead of what she's expecting; she isn't sure exactly what, she gets thirty minutes of all the pop culture she has missed out on; movies, and comic books, music, and computer games.

For the most part she didn't even talk; just listened to him, she even found herself smiling. He was so passionate about it all, as he gestured, and raised his voice as he made a point. Ryan was so much quieter, he spoke only rarely, mostly to disagree with Seth, who would then go off on a tangent of why Ryan was wrong. Ryan would then defer to Seth's higher knowledge with a good-natured smile, and a shrug. She could tell how well they got on, even if they were completely different.

Sandy was quiet too, which she wasn't expecting, but when turns from the latest debate to watch Sandy in the kitchen washing-up she realizes how tired he looks. She knew he'd been at the hospital all the time she'd been awake, but it didn't register with her that he'd been there _all the time. _She'd just assumed he must be going home to sleep; knowing he didn't makes her uncomfortable, and she turns away before he can catch her staring.


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: I started this with good intentions of updating every weekend, of course I then get set a very important essay, so that went out the window. Now that's done I should be able to write more regularly.

* * *

><p>After they've finished with their meals, Seth insists again on the house tour. Sandy wants to go with them, but Seth insists they will be fine. He takes her through the kitchen, and then to the living room; offering commentary as they go, such as "This is the kitchen. We don't let you in here if we can help it," and "this is where the tree goes at Chrismukka." After she asks him, he explains in great detail the origin and the traditions of Chrismukka as they walk around the house. She's not sure what to think; Christmas was always such a big deal in her house when she was growing up, and this seems like another massive change that's being thrust upon her. She does find though, once she's had a chance to think about it for a second, that she quite likes the idea of it. A holiday that's theirs, meshed together as a remedy to what might seem to some as irreconcilable differences.<p>

He takes her into the garden, and shows her the pool, and the view. He keeps expecting her to react in some way; he forgets for a while that this is the one thing that isn't new to her; she did, after all, grow up around here. Once he's shown her the pool house he takes her across the patio to the French doors that open into the master bedroom. It is in here that Seth gets a reaction though he isn't expecting it; but from the moment he announces "this is yours and dad's room... purposely far, far away from mine," she gets becomes extremely uncomfortable. She hadn't been particularly chatty up until that point, but now she'd gone very quiet, and was staring at the floor.

This is the room that Seth had saved for last, and just as he's asking her if she wants to see the family albums and videos next, Sandy joins them. She asks if she can take a bath instead; Sandy tells her that that is a great idea, and then tells Seth that everything else can wait for another day.

Once they've left her she locks herself in the en-suite. As she runs the water she undresses, and finally does what she has been avoiding this whole time; she looks in the mirror. She doesn't know what she was expecting; maybe that she would see a stranger, which doesn't happen or maybe that she would see her mother staring back at her, which doesn't happen either, though there is a slight resemblance. Instead what she sees is herself, she still has the same blonde hair, the same eyes; she parts her lips in a grimace, and sees the same teeth. There are wrinkles where there wasn't any before, and she looks down at the rest of her body and sees changes there too, but she is surprised to find they are really not all that bad. The best part is that as far as she is aware, she has not submitted to the will of the rest of the town, and gone under the knife. So she doesn't look sixteen any-more; that's really the least of her problems at this moment in time she realizes.

When she gets out of the bath she feels a whole lot better. Cleaner, yes, but also lessened were the aches and pains that she'd only been able to dull with pain-killers. She steps into the bedroom in her towel to find that Sandy had laid some clothes out for her; clean pajamas, a dressing gown, underwear, and even a pair of slippers.

Once she is dressed she goes out to the family room where they are all watching television. She stands there watching them for a moment before she speaks. "Can I make myself a drink?"

"You don't need to ask. It's your home." Sandy reminds her kindly. She nods, and turns to the kitchen.

"You're welcome to make me one as well." Seth tells her, to a vocal objection from both Ryan and Sandy. Seth takes the hint and gets up himself to make everyone a drink, insisting she sits down. Once they've finished Seth goes upstairs to call Summer, and Ryan excuses himself, and goes through to the pool house.

Left alone they sit in silence for a while, just watching the television. After a while Kirsten yawns loudly, and Sandy looks across at her for a moment, before standing up, leaning over her to take her mug out of her hands, and pulling her to her feet. "Come on." He puts her mug down, and then pulls her through to the bedroom. As sleepy as she was she'd let him pull her along without objection, now though she freezes as she looks at the bed, quickly at him, and then back to the bed again. "I'm going to take the guest room for the time being, until you get your memory back," he reassures her. As he turns to get his things she looks again around the room. She sees photos all around the room; photos of her looking like she does now, photos of her with Sandy. "Actually, may I... Is it alright if I take the guest room?" He looks surprised, but readily agrees.

The next morning the boys have already left when Sandy brings her breakfast in bed. He'd knocked a couple of times, but she'd been so out of it that she hadn't woken. It is him leaning over her, and gently running his hand up and down her arm that does it. She starts, and then sits up quickly, pulling the duvet with her. He hands her the tray he'd balanced on the edge of the bed-side table, and sits on the edge of her bed.

"Pancakes," He tells her with a flourish, pointing out the individual items as he says them. "Coffee, orange juice, fruit, and... no Cohen breakfast would be complete without... bagels."

"Thank-you," She tells him politely, and starts on the coffee greedily; burning her tongue in the process. She flinches, and grabs the juice to instead; after a couple of mouthfuls she looks up at him, seemingly just realizing he's still sat there. She smiles awkwardly, and then makes a start on her food. If Sandy knows that she's uncomfortable, he's doing a good job of pretending otherwise as he makes small-talk with her while she eats.

When she's finished he takes the tray from her, and she thanks him again. He suggests she take it easy this morning, and then maybe they could go for a walk, and get some fresh air later on. She agrees, and he smiles at her as he leaves; his smile dropping the second he shuts the door, leaning against it with a sigh.

Around lunch-time Sandy opens the door to Julie. Without preamble to asks him if what she'd heard from Caleb, about Kirsten, was true. Sandy fills her in on the past few days, and she is horrified at Kirsten's close call, and concerned about her friend's memory loss, although she can't help but joke that there are a lot of things in her life she would rather forget.

"She's just so awkward with me," he tells her. "Nervous. She wasn't ever nervous with me, not even when we first met." Julie, not used to any-one, let alone Sandy, confiding in her, does her best to be sympathetic. She tells him that she's sure every-thing will be fine, and that Kirsten's memory will come back any day now. "I hope so." He says, more to himself than to her, and then Julie moves on to the other reason for her visit; she asks him for advice about the divorce.

Once Sandy has shared his legal opinion she asks if she can go to see Kirsten. "I'll go get her." Sandy starts, wanting to give Kirsten some warning, but Julie stops him, insisting there's no need. "Knock, knock," She calls as she opens the door slowly. Kirsten is sat on top of the bed reading the book that had been on the side-table. When she sees Julie enter she puts it down.

Julie sits on the edge of her bed, and Kirsten after an awkward moment tells her that she's sorry but she has no idea who she is.

"I know I heard." Julie tells her, reaching for Kirsten's book and absently scanning the cover. "I'm sure it's all around town by this point." She looks up at Kirsten's blank look, and then introduces herself. "I'm Julie Cooper-Nickol. I'm your mother-in-law, though of course I'm younger than you by quite a few years. I'm also your best friend."

"Mother-in-law?"

"Yes. I'm married to your father...Did nobody tell you that?" Kirsten shakes her head.

"No... _Cooper_-Nickol."

"I was married to Jimmy for a long time. Thank God that's over, best thing I got out of that was my girls."

Kirsten is silent, and only looks down at the bed. Julie watches her for a moment, and then exclaims. "Oh my God... You're not jealous are you?... Never thought I'd see that."

"It's just that last thing I remember I was dating Jimmy. I can't believe we broke up, I don't know why... Do you know?"

"No. Jimmy wouldn't talk to me about it, not that I encouraged him too. I know that you met Sandy not long after. Jimmy was always so jealous of the two of you. It was his idea to move in next door to you, but I think he regretted it, having to watch you and Sandy all over each other all the time."

Kirsten nods as she tries to take that in. She's not sure that she likes Julie, it's just a feeling she's getting, maybe she admits though it's just the fact that she was married to Jimmy, and that she's now married to her father, that she has a problem with. She can't mind that much in the future though, or the present, or whatever, not if they are best friends. "So me and Sandy... We were in love?"

"It was sickening... Let's just say it wasn't just Jimmy that was jealous of the pair of you... Of course you fell from your perfect couple pedestal recently, what with Rebecca, and Carter... Not that I blame you.. He was hot."

"What do you mean?" She can feel her blood start to run cold, and she's not exactly sure why. She doesn't really need Julie to explain, she can work it out for herself, and isn't that what she'd wanted. Proof that firstly she and Jimmy were still in each other's lives, and that he was jealous of her marriage to Sandy, and secondly, that she and Sandy were not the 'perfect couple.' That must mean they were both unhappy, surely, if they were cheating on each other. Instead of feeling relieved though, she feels suddenly like she's going to cry.

Julie leaves not long after, though not before she'd shared the whole, 'Rebecca, Carter Saga.' Before she felt sad, now she feels angry. She feels like she was mislead, and by Sandy more than anyone. He'd been playing the doting husband since she woke up, and now she was learning that 'playing' was all he had been doing.

She spends the afternoon avoiding him, but he finally corners her when she comes into the kitchen in search of food. After they've eaten Sandy manages to cajole her into watching a movie with him, really she just wants to be on her own, but instead she finds herself sitting on the couch next to him. They have just pressed play when the phone rings. Sandy tells her he will deal with it, and gets up.


End file.
